Classes 2016

STEM Lectures and Study Sections

The lectures provide a series of seminars from experts in selected STEM fields. Each seminar offers an introduction to a particular STEM topic and provides a glimpse into original research in that field. Students will also have the opportunity to ask questions about research in that area and gain some insight into career pathways in the field. An emphasis is placed on cross-disciplinary topics that combine research from multiple fields.

The seminars are supported by Study Sections that help the students understand the Seminar content and learn study skills needed to succeed in lecture-type classes. In study sections, students will also have the opportunity to tour labs and facilities on campus, take part in hands-on and computer activities, and work on their group projects.

Computer Science

In this class, we will be introducing the basic building blocks of Computer Science. We will cover the basics of Java development, programmatic thinking and industry culture. In Java Development, we us the object oriented language Java to break down the basics of programming including: data types, control structures and objects. In Programmatic Thinking, one of the foundation skills of computer science is the act of breaking large problems down into bite sized logical blocks. We will work on building this transferable skill as it applies to programming and general problem solving. Industry Culture, through fun trivia we will slowly build your understanding of the tech industry’s history, culture and future.

Medical Microbiology

Microbiology is the study of microscopic organisms, including unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony) or acellular (lacking cells). In this course, we will mainly focus on microorganisms that are known Public Health concerns (i.e. Dengue virus, E. coli O157H7, etc.), investigating the presence and growth of microbial infections and studying their effects on the human body. By the end of this course, you should be able to distinguish the major microbial classes based on their cellular morphology, as well as understand some of the distinguishing features that differentiate harmless microbes from those that cause infectious disease (i.e. toxins, virulence genes, etc.).

Improving our understanding of how microorganisms usurp pre-existing biological niches allows for a predictive understanding of how microbial impact their environment. Microbiology is a basic science that seeks to understand microbial interactions as a means to inform on patient care and can be used to help develop novel therapies and inform vaccine design.

Neural Engineering

This course provides an introduction to neural engineering. Students covered the basic principles of neuroscience and electrical engineering , examine applications in synthetic sensory systems as well as prostheses and other movement-assistant devices, and conclude with a discussion of ethics of engineering themselves. Neuroscience is one of the fastest-growing areas of science today. Its growth is encouraged by new technical tools and engineering collaborations that enable us to tinker with our own nervous system like never before. Neural engineering represents the fusion of neuroscience’s expertise on the brain with engineering approaches to treating neurological disorders, diseases, and injuries. This course introduced students to the interdisciplinary world of modern research, taught skills and knowledge on a diverse array of topics in both neuroscience and engineering.

Latin

This class serves as an introduction to the Latin language. The emphasis will be on Latin vocabulary and their English cognates, with the goal of expanding your English vocabulary as well as preparing you for the language of your prospective college degrees.

In addition to basic vocabulary, writing assignments will be given to practice utilizing the English words introduced in class. All writing tasks will be assessed using a rubric, which will be provided at the time an assignment is introduced.

Although the focus is primarily on vocabulary, fundamental Latin grammar will also be introduced. With the vocabulary and grammar introduced in our textbook, students should also expect to be able to read, write, and translate simple Latin sentences.

College Prep

UW MSUB College Prep provides students with a trifecta of winning strategies to prepare them for an increasingly competitive college admission’s process as well as the expectations of college once admitted.

This course will cover the following three topics and winning strategies:

Preparing for College: Strategies – specifically designed to help students understand how colleges/universities look at their academic record, extracurricular activities, and standardized tests. With this knowledge students will develop a personal college portfolio containing brag sheets, and leadership logs; all items within the portfolio will showcase each student’s full potential as a committed learner, collaborator, and leader. This section will also illustrate how each student 1) takes full advantage of academic resources, 2) challenges his/her self with the courses they choose, and 3) engages in the academic process. Finally, students are introduced to SAT/ACT and Scholarship Resources in preparation for Autumn Workshops.

Applying to College: Strategies – specifically designed to help students create a list of “possible, probable, and solid” schools that fit each student’s needs and aspirations. In addition, students will research their schools’ missions, majors/departments, selection criterion, costs, and student demographics in order to further find the best institution for each student’s needs and interests.

Meeting College Expectations: Strategies – specifically designed to help students develop college-level critical thinking through various readings, writing activities, and journal reflections. Using Article of the Week, a strong emphasis in expository readings and writings are built into the curriculum in order to prepare students to meet the expectations of college and university faculty. Students are also introduced to college-level study skills, and communication and presentation skills.

Research Writing

In this course we will work through three scaffolded assignment sequences, each of which culminates in a longer written assignment. As we will focus on writing as a process rather than a finished product, each of these major assignments represents the final step in a series of shorter writing tasks. We work in this step-by-step fashion because it’s important to recognize that effective writing does not happen overnight, as the product of intense concentration and/or inherent skill or genius. Strong writing—like the thought that goes into it—is developed slowly and carefully over time. It grows from a simple idea into more complex collection of ideas and emerges as the deliberate and organized outcome of a longer process of drafts, feedback, revision, and recreation. To further this goal, there will be many opportunities for extensive work-shopping of your writing in the course; active participation in this peer review process is essential to your success.

Math 1

This course is designed to strengthen the basic analytic skills necessary for future high school math courses and introduce students to the concepts taught in an Algebra 2 class. The course will examine in detail rational operations, linear operations, order or operations, and applications.

Math 2A

This course is designed to strengthen the mathematical skills necessary for advanced courses such as calculus, statistics, and physics.

Students will revisit some topics seen in previous math courses, but will work with those topics in more depth. Topics covered include functions in general, exponential functions, logarithmic functions and trigonometry.

Math 2B

This course is designed to strengthen the problem solving skills necessary for future high school math courses and introduce students to the concepts taught in Precalculus class. The course will examine methods for converting mathematical statements into common language, methods for converting common language into mathematical statements, exploration of exponential and logarithmic functions, with special attention to applications of growth and decay, and specific applications in statistics, chemistry.

Math 3

This course provides an introduction to the concepts of differential calculus. Students will learn how their algebra knowledge and skills are utilized in this advanced mathematical subject.

The course will begin with a refresher of past topics, especially functions. It will then move on to topics of limits and then to the topic of derivatives.